Pages

Monday, August 20, 2012

Greek Inspired Flatbread with Smoked Salmon Feta

Hello
Everyone!

I
am in love with my herbs! Just look at how beautiful my planter is. It has some
basil, lemon thyme, bell pepper, chives, sage, and mint. MINT for the Food Matters Project recipe this week, Greek “Nachos” with Feta Drizzle, chosen by
Megan. My friend, Roslyn, planted these babies for me as a housewarming
present. This is probably the most thoughtful present I have ever received.
Thank you Ros!

Before
we proceed to the recipe, let me tell you the story of how I met Roslyn and her
husband, Jo. We all met at the gym, the hub of our social lives! When I was new
in this area where I’m living in right now, the gym immediately became my
second home. Seriously folks, I was obsessed, and probably worked out at least
2 hours a day, no less than 5 days a week. I’m not crazy like that anymore.
Thank goodness!

So,
before we even started smiling at each other, Roslyn saved me at a Body Pump
class. Body Pump is an awesome weight lifting class that targets all parts of
your body. I used to love it and went to class thrice a week, but have since
stopped since my back got all weird a year ago. In a Body Pump class, Track 2
is all about squats and Track 7 is all about lunges, these squats and lunges
are done with weights on our backs. So 2 years or so ago, when we got done
doing lunges in Track 7, I pulled my right shoulder out of its socket as I was
hoisting the weight over my head from its position on my upper back. Oh my
freakin’ goodness, it hurt so bad! Even though nobody knew what had happened,
there was a look on my face that screamed “I am in pain!”. *pause…*

Let
me back track to the beginning of this injury… Three years ago, after my host
parents and I piled alpaca manure and raked leaves in their pasture, we jumped
on the truck to head home. But we saw a turtle in the way and we didn’t want to
crush it. So we got out of the truck and took it over to the pond. As I hoisted
myself up the truck, my foot slipped while my hand was gripping the roof and
pulled my shoulder. I was in pain and knew that I should not move my shoulder.
During the short drive home, I sat as still as I could and when I glanced at
the mirror, I could totally see my collarbone jutting out in a very odd angle.
It was very freaky and scary. After some minutes passed, I took a deep breath
and felt my shoulder pop back in place and my collarbone looked normal again.
We still went to the doctor and after he deemed me fine, he said it will happen
again and again. So the best thing for me to do was to heal and then start
doing some shoulder strengthening exercises. True to his prophecy, since then my
shoulder has popped out during tennis, as I rolled out of bed, and during Body
Pump.

Back
to my Roslyn story… So, after I pulled my shoulder in the middle of class, it
was all I could do not to yell out in pain. I kinda looked around, embarrassed,
to see if anyone noticed my distress, but all of them were too busy pumping
their muscles up. But Roslyn, she noticed that something was wrong with me. She
dropped her weights, came over to me and led me outside the room to find a
trainer or someone who could help me. When we were out of the room, she asked
me what happened and tried to find someone who could help (to no avail). Luckily, after a few
minutes, I took a deep breath and my shoulder just popped right back in
place. Her concern touched me… a complete stranger went out of her way to see
if she could do anything to help me. After we both decided that I was semi fine,
we went back to class and I braved three more tracks of shoulder, abs, and cool
down. Roslyn and I talked after class, she wanted to check how I was feeling
and from then on, we became good friends.

Roslyn
is a microbiologist who secretly wants to be a gardener. She loves her herbs
and I am one of the lucky beneficiaries of her bounty! This herb planter was
totally worth that pulled shoulder moment…

Tonight,
the mint and basil in Roslyn’s herb planter contributed to the FMP dinner that
DFJ and I just enjoyed and absolutely loved, Greek Inspired Flatbread with Smoked Salmon Feta. This was adapted from Greek “Nachos” with Feta Drizzle, byMark Bittman.
Check out the original recipe at Art by Megan and be inspired by this woman's creativity.

This
recipe is so easy, simple, and delicious to boot! Thank you for choosing such a
great and hassle-free recipe Megan, this is a perfect no-fuss but oh-so-good dinner to make right before the beginning of a new school year (I'm a teacher too!). To Mark Bittman, you win again!

Instead
of using pita bread, I used naan,
which turned out great. You can’t ever go wrong with naan!

A generous spread of lemony and minty smoked salmon
feta-yogurt sauce with roasted tomatoes was slathered on top of the naan.

The perfect ultimate topping to
complete the dish was a salad of tomato, cucumber, onion, and olives.

This
special Greek flatbread is light, fresh, super healthy, and incredibly tasty!

Adjust
oven rack to the middle position then preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place naan on a baking sheet and when the oven
is ready, bake the naan for 10
minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the naan
to stay warm until you are done preparing the toppings.

Joe just read the blog to me out loud while I cooked tomorrow's lunch. I loved the feature photo of the planter with toes in foreground:) I'm very touched to be included in your blog, and very happy we're friends. Too bad it too a busted shoulder to get the ball rolling! Have fun with your herbs!!

That is really inventive Margarita! Side note - I read Part 1 of your Olympic Rainforest adventure and it sounds AMAZING!!!! Thanks for being so detailed. I bookmarked it and can't wait to plan a trip up there soon :)

Wow, your shoulder injury sounds so scary! In highschool, I played rugby, and I managed to get though it injury free, except for a concussion once. Although I think I injured some people, hopefully not with permanent effects.. I'm glad you had someone there for you, Roslyn sounds like the best of friends.I have got to say that this looks terrific. Anything Greek, and I'm all over it.

About Me

Hello, my name is Margarita. I try to live a healthy lifestyle by eating well and working out. I am a cooking enthusiast and I like sharing my love for good food. Most of my recipes contain lots of vegetables and perhaps a bit of meat here and there. Staying active is one of the things that keep me sane. I love doing yoga, walking, hiking, biking, lifting weights, and occasional running. Join me in my food, travel, and life adventures and together let's eat well, cook right, live strong, and be healthy!